To Be a True Master - part 7
by B. Juster II
Summary: The (long) story of a new pokemon trainer, his quest for a legendary evil that he released, and all his adventures along the way


  
  
  
To Be a True Master - The Journey Of a Lifetime   
(Chapter 7)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Part 13. The Southern Barnyard Blowout (Continued)  
  
  
  
  
  
  
When we arrived at the campsite, I looked slowly up, noticing Jessie and James weren't there.  
"Where're-" I began.  
"Zippit," Lark growled. Then, in a calmer tone: "they're still at the dance."  
"Oh, okay, well I'm going for a walk," I said quickly, not looking up but slithering away from her angry glare.  
I don't know how far I walked, I don't know what I did or thought. When I came back to my senses I was sitting by a small lake lit only by moonlight. I found a rock in my hand, which I threw into the calm waters, creating a ripple which distorted the peaceful moon.  
'Why are you angry?' a voice asked inside my head.  
'Because she is,' I thought back at my mind angrily.  
'Why do you think she's angry?'  
'Because I embarassed her?'  
'Try again.'  
'Because she liked James and was having fun?'  
'Doubtful, she's known you longer, and knows you better.'When I got there, I looked slowly up, noticing Jessie and James weren't there.  
"Where're-" I began.  
"Zippit," Lark growled. Then, in a calmer tone: "they're still at the dance."  
"Oh, okay, well I'm going for a walk," I said quickly, not looking up but slithering away from her angry glare.  
I don't know how far I walked,I don't know what I did or thought. When I came back to my senses I was sitting by a small lake lit only by moonlight. I found a rock in my hand, which I threw into the calm waters, creating a ripple which distorted the peaceful moon.  
'Why are you angry?' a voice asked inside my head.  
'Because she is,' I thought back at my mind angrily.  
'Why do you think she's angry?'  
'Because I embarassed her?'  
'Try again.'  
'Because she liked James and was having fun?'  
'Doubtful, she's known you longer, and knows you better.'  
'Because.... She cares for me like I do for her?' I somehow asked my mind timidly.  
'Possibly....' the voice faded away.  
I sighed and pulled out my pokedex. Flipping it open, I began to look through Charcloy's information.  
"Hi," said a soft voice behind me.  
I turned my head slightly, then turned back without a word. Lark walked up behind me, then stood above me for a moment before sitting down several inches from me.  
We both looked up at the moon for a while, then I pretended to ignore the girl, quietly typing away at my pokedex.  
"Whacha doin'?" she asked in a friendly tone, looking over at Pokedex.  
"Just reading Charcloy's attacks," I murmured. Silence. I deliberately pressed the audible description button on Pokedex to break the silence.  
"Charcloy's attacks, Fire Geyser: A miniature version of Volcanic Meltdown. Charcloy bursts open a hole in the ground approximately one foot around, then brings steam and boiling water to the surface. Since this is not Charcloy's most powerful attack, it is suggested that a trainer use this on unarmored pokemon."  
I pressed another button. "Charcloy's Attacks: Burning Tackle. Charcloy covers himself with flames, then flies up into the air for a near-suicidal dive which is almost always an instant KO. Trainers Beware, as this attack can badly damage Charcloy."  
Lark opened her mouth to speak and I quickly pressed another button. "Charcloy's Attacks, Sonic Meltdown. Charcloy roars on a subsonic level, producing a brain-piercing sound which only pokemon can hear. In the cases of ground and fighting pokemon, this attack can make the pokemon faint from the sheer pressure on their brains. Trainer Tip: This attack is highly effective against psychic pokemon, as it confuses their thought processes and prevents them from attacking until they have cleared their minds."  
Lark reached over and forcefully but carefully closed my pokedex. I sighed and turned to face her. "Okay, what is it?" I asked tolerantly.  
She smiled for the first time since the end of the party, and I felt warmth spread throughout my body. "Jack, I'm sorry for yelling at you back at the dance, I shouldn't have overreacted."  
I shrugged flippantly. "'s okay, no harm done, sept to Charcloy," I said with a chuckle.  
"But Jack," Lark said as she lay down and looked up at the moon. "Don't fight on my account, don't go risking yourself and your pokemon just for me again, will you promise me that?"  
"Why?" I predictably asked.  
Lark sighed and rubbed some tears out of her eyes. "I…. I wasn't in that forest alone," she said quietly. I was about to ask her who she was with, but she continued on anyway. "I…. I had a boyfriend when I went in there.   
"Adrian and I were friends all our lives when we were growing up in Celadon City, we did everything together. When we got our starting pokemon several weeks ago, we decided to go out and catch all the psychic and fire pokemon we could," Lark's eyes began to tear. "Together," she whispered.  
She gulped and sniffed. "Then, when we were going to get a flareon in the Eevee forest, some monster came down on us, I never even saw it, it just hit us with a beam of electricity and fire, then flew off. When I came to, Adrian was gone. All I found of him were some scattered ashes, and his only pokemon, still in its pokeball. So I lied to you, I did have two pokemon, but I don't think I'll ever use Adrian's."  
Lark let out a shuddering sigh and her tears began to fade away. "And then, when I saw James Garner tonight, his spirit, his manners, and just he himself reminded me so much of Adrian, that I decided to just let myself go and pretend he was Adrian."  
I'd never felt so low in all my life. I felt like a jerk, a loser, a bully.  
Lark suddenly sat up and smiled at me. "Then," she began to blush. "I was confused when I saw you two fighting. On one hand, I felt drawn to James because he was like my old friend. And on the other hand, I'd harbored a deep down attraction to you."  
My spirits soared like a Dragonite, and instead of an all-time low, I was at all-time high. All I could manage was a goofy grin, which I quickly suppressed. I looked at her, and, even though I didn't say anything, Lark smiled and wiped a tear from her eye as she received my message.  
Lark wiped the last tears from her eyes and moved closer to me, leaning her head on my shoulder and relaxing, I believed for the first time since I had found her in the forest.  
When I woke up, an indeterminable amount of time later, it was pitch black dark. 'Where am I?' I thought.  
'Ground. Cold, hard dirt and ground,' were the next thoughts. Then 'warmth, comfort.'  
I looked to my side, and there was Lark, her arms hooked around my arm, her head resting on my shoulder. 'I could get used to this,' I thought, and lay there for several minutes. As luck would have it, our moment was not to last. Mister and Miss Clumsy and timing perfection came blundering through the forest path, yelling for Lark and me.  
With a sigh, I shook Lark awake and sat up. She sat up groggily, then smiled sleepily at me, looking around slowly. "Common Beautiful Dreamer," I said sarcastically, helping the tired girl to her feet.  
She gave me another heartwarming smile. "You're sweet," she whispered, then unexpectedly leaned up and brushed her lips across my cheek.  
I sighed, then came back to reality. It took quite a bit of explaining before Jessie and James were finally satisfied when they found us, and, after a busy and fulfilling night, we all slid into our sleeping bags around a dying fire and fell asleep in the peaceful field.  
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Part 14. Daisy, of the Cerulean Gym!  
  
  
  
"Do we have to get up this early?" James whined as our group trudged into Cerulean City the next morning.  
"Yep," I said cheerfully. "It's a Saturday, and the Gym'll be packed all day! I've gotta get in there and win a badge before anybody else arrives."  
I quietly opened the doors to the just opening Cerulean Gym. It was 8 AM, and the Gym leader was set to start battling in about ten minutes. "Wow," I commented as I looked around. Right away you could see that the Gym Leader had done some remodeling to the normal run-of-the-mill gym. Giant tanks stood around the walls, filled with various water pokemon. I watched fascinated as I saw a Staryu evolve right before my eyes. Jessie and James layed down on the bleachers and instantly fell asleep, snoring as usual.  
"Hey, Jack," Lark said, walking over to the open space between the olympic-sized pool and bleachers. "Wanna battle me, get your other pokemon some experience?"  
I thought for a moment. "Okay, I need to evolve Metapod anyway, so, go Metapod!"  
I quickly threw Metapod onto the shiny gym floor and awaited Lark's pokemon. She grinned. "Now you'll see what I chose as my starting pokemon, go Drowzee!"  
A Drowzee appeared, rather comical with its long snout and waving arms. I wasn't fooled. I knew Drowzee was a very powerful pokemon.  
"Okay, Metapod Harden, and brace your mind!"  
"Drowzee, Confusion!"  
Metapod glowed, then a protective film enveloped him, making him invulnerable to physical attacks. A blue aura surrounded Drowzee, and Metapod lifted into the air.  
"Droooowzeeeee," Drowzee whispered as it waved its hands mystically. Metapod rose higher into the air, then screamed down towards the ground. Five feet before it would of hit, Metapod twisted in mid-flight, turning to face Drowzee as he came down.  
I grinned. Drowzee turned pale. "WHHHHHAAAM!" Metapod slammed into Drowzee with such force that the poor Psychic was hurled back into the Cerulean Gym Pool.  
Lark stuck out her tongue at me and recalled Drowzee. "Go, Pikachu!" She yelled proudly, throwing Pikachu's pokeball out.  
"Pi-kachu!" Pikachu squeaked tiredly as it rubbed the sleep-sand out of its eyes. "Pikachu, thundershock!" Lark ordered.  
Pikachu straightened, and his cheeks sparked. "PiiikaaaaaaaaCHUUUUUU!" Pikachu sent out a solid volt of electricity. Lucky for me, without orders Metapod hardened again. Electricity crackled around my coccoon pokemon, but didn't affect him. The smooth, wax-like hardening material Metapod had used seemed to reflect electricity.  
"Pikachu, swift!" Lark said calmly.  
Pikachu leaned back, and his hands glowed. Then the little electric rodent threw his hands forward, hurling dozens of little yellow stars at Metapod.  
"Metapod! Meta metapod!" Metapod barked repeatedly as the stars struck him, spinning him wildly, then knocking him back, and sending him ten directions every second.  
"Swift again!"  
"Harden, Metapod!"  
Ten minutes later no progress was made. The only status change was that Metapod was getting Dizzy from his constant spin, and Pikachu was getting worn out. Pikachu's little hand glowed, and he produced a hug spinning star. "Pika!" Pikachu cried, then threw the star so hard that he tumbled over.  
The star came on at Metapod, and he took it dead-on. A terrible ripping sound filled the gym as the star cut through Metapod's hide, then continued on to hit the other side of the gym, where it clattered to the floor and disappeared.  
"Metapod!" I yelled, running forward to pick up my apparently dead pokemon. "Metaaa.." he moaned, then his eyes closed.  
Lark quickly recalled Pikachu then caught up to me. "I'm sorry!" she said with tears in her eyes.  
"Freee, freeeeee!" said a voice from inside Metapod. Suddenly, Metapod's coccoon glowed, then cracked open. Two wings unfolded from the hold in his skin, then a small body appeared. Butterfree's wings opened up and it flapped up the gym's ceiling.  
"Free, free!" It cooed, flying in circles around the gym.  
"Butterfree, return!" I snapped, holding up his pokeball. I clipped the pokeball back to my belt and turned to face the girl I had seen watching me.  
"You're early," the girl said. "Most pokemon trainers are not this dedicated to getting a badge."  
"Well I am," I said determinedly, holding up Gloom's pokeball. "And I challenge you to a match for the cascadebadge!"  
"Okay," the Gym Leader said calmly, pulling out a pokeball of her own. "I am Daisy of the Cerulean Gym, and I accept your challenge. I do not like battling, but I will fight you. Three pokemon battle, no time limit, go Starmie!"  
"Wait a minute," I said, kneeling down and releasing Gloom. I took out a green leaf stone from my evolution stone pouch and touched Gloom with it  
"Gloom gloom?" he chirped questioningly as he began to glow.  
"Okay, now go Vileplume!" I said, pointing to the awaiting Starmie, wh owas waiting in the pool.  
"Viiiile," Vileplum squealed, waddling out to face its challenge. 'Okay, Starmie's fast, Vileplume's slow. Better slow it down then go for a direct power hit.'  
"Vileplume, stun spore!"  
"Starmie, spinning tackle!" Daisy yelled, sitting down beside the pool.  
Vileplume released a cloud of fine tan powder. "Hya!" Starmie snapped, spinning directly into the stun powder. Starmie didn't come out. When the cloud cleared, Starmie was slowly dragging himself to th pool in hopes of washing off the powder.  
"Okay, Vileplume finish it with Solarbeam!" Vileplume moaned and began to gather energy from the skylight in the gym ceiling, preparing its attack.  
"Hya!" Starmie jumped out of the pool, preparing to tackle Vileplume again. He only got out of the pool before Vileplume released his beam of solid solar energy.   
"Heeeeeeyaaaaaa!" Starmie howled as it was struck dead on and flew across the gym. Daisy knew the danger of Starmie hitting the brick wall and wisely recalled him as he made his one-way flight.  
"Oh well.... Okay, go Dewgong!"  
A white ice-water pokemon swam into the center of the pool, and cried out its name in a somewhat ridiculous voice.  
"Dewgong, Ice Beam!"  
Before I could give Vileplume an order, a white beam much like Vileplume's solar beam except in color appeared in front of Dewgong. Vileplume squealed as the beam struck it, sending it sliding across the gym floor.   
"Oh dangit, okay Vileplume return!" I shouted, then pulled out another pokeball. "Do good boy," I whispered, kissing the pokeball. "Go.... Butterfree!"  
"Free free!" Butterfree said, staring Dewgong down and awating my orders. "Butterfree, use your confusion to raise Dewgong into the air, then hit him with your best Psybeam!"  
"Free free!" Butterfree cooed, then glowed.  
"Goooong?" Dewgong squealed, more in surprise than fear as it was raised into the air.  
"Oh no," Daisy cried, standing up. "Dewgong, water gun!"  
Unfortunately for Daisy, by now Dewgong was getting thoroughly scared at being near the ceiling, in danger of falling to the floor any moment. Dewgong didn't even hear the order, he just thrashed around wildly, shrieking in terror.  
Butterfree calmly clapped his hands together, and a ball of purple energy formed. "Freeeee!" Butterfree yelled as it released the energy. Dewgong didn't stand a chance against the powerful psychic attack. The poor ice pokemon splahsed down into the pool, unconscious before he hit.  
"Dewgong return," Daisy said in a bitter voice. "Go, Gyarados!"  
'Uh oh," I thought. A huge, 30 foot water dragon pokemon appeared, roaring out its challenge. Without an order, Gyarados lashed its tail out, knocking Butterfree to the ground.  
"Free free!" Butterfree squeaked as it ran in a circle, trying to avoid Gyarados's huge water blasts.  
"Eagh!" I growled in frustration. "This isn't working, return Butterfree, go Charcloy!"  
I hesitated for a moment, even thoug hI'd already called him out. 'Okay, I'm counting on you,' I thought, then tossed out the green Ultra Ball.  
Charcloy exploded up to the ceiling, nearly touching the roof when standing fully up. "CLOOOOOOY!" Charcloy roared, looking up and pouring flames around the gym.  
Gyarados roared and left the pool, charging towards Charcloy. This was obviously a battle of supremacy. Both dragon pokemon had forgotten their trainers as they swirled and slammed into each other, bashing mercilessly.  
"Chaaaar!" Charcloy hissed as he spat flames at Gyarados. Gyarados likewise hissed and sent a wave of water at Charcloy. "No, Charcloy!" I yelled as the water sprayed over his tail flame, covering it from view, probably dousing it.  
When the water blast cleared, Charcloy stood smirking. A protective bubble shimmered around his tail, sparking as it evaporated the last drops of water.   
I grinned, smirking up at Gyarados, who was looking confused and worried.  
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam," Daisy yelled.  
"Charcloy, reflect!"  
Gyarados tossed his head forward, emitting a beam of golden energy. At the same moment, Charcloy leapt forward, holding in his two huge paws a glowing red shield.   
In an explosion of powerful crackling energy the Hyper Beam struck Charcloy's reflect shield. Charcloy's feet dug into the gym floor, splintering the wood as he fought to hold back the hyper beam. Gyarados finaly roared and let the Hyper Beam go, he could not hold it up any longer.  
Charcloy smirked and dropped the shield instantly. "Hit 'im hard Charcloy, Mega Punch him into the pool!"  
"Chaar!"  
Charcloy stepped foward, his fist beginning to emit the familiar orange glow. Chaaaaarcloy!" Charcloy growled, then slammed his fist into Gyarados. The poor water dragon flew into the air with a scream, splashing down into the pool where he quickly jumped up, trying to regain his senses.  
"Charcloy, flame geyser the pool now!"  
Charcloy fell silent, then raised his paws into the air as if summoning some force. Gyarados snarled and weakly began to swim across the pool. Suddenly, bubbles rose from different parts of the pool. Jets of water rose into the air, steaming and hissing with heat. Gyarados looked around in confusion, then was thrown to the side as several water-blasts hit him.  
"Oh no! Gyarados return!" Daisy cried, recalling her badly hurt Gyarados.   
"Chaaaaaarcloooy!" Charcloy roared and breathed flames into the pool. With a hissing and a cloud of vapor, the pool was emptied.  
Daisy looked up at Charcloy in momentary awe, then pulled out a cascade badge and threw it to me. "Now please leave before that dragon causes any more damage to the gym," she said, not at all unfriendly.  
"Thanks!" I said, tipping my hat to her. "Charcloy, good fight, return to your pokeball and let's get to the pokemon center."  
"Please heal my pokemon," I said, giving five of my pokeballs to Nurse Joy. Eevee hadn't battled, and there was no reason to heal him. Besides, I was never going to let that eevee out of my sight for a minute, he was the only thing that could stop Ultrareon.  
"They'll be ready in about ten minutes," she said with a smile, then took my pokeballs away on a cart.  
I walked over to the table where Jessie, James, Meowth and Lark sat arguing. "I've got two badges now," I said proudly, opening my jacket to display the beautiful cascadebadge, and the rather dull boulderbadge.  
"Oh wahoo," Jessie said dryly. "You seem to have forgotten about a rather large small problem."  
"What's tha-" I began.  
"ULTRAREON," Jessie interrupted with a low bark.  
"Oh yeah," I said, lowering my eyes and thinking for a moment. "Hey, I know, let's see what Bill's eevee can tell us about where the lost evolution stones are," I said, releasing the afore said pokemon.  
"Eevee," Eevee squeaked cheerfully, then sat down on the table, licking his paw.   
I fumbled around in my backpack for a moment, then spread out a large map of Pokemon Island. "Okay eevee, show us where the first evolution stone is."  
Eevee squinted at the map, then began humming. The red/yellow/blue stone in his forehead glowed, then all three colors burst out, lighting up the map in a circular light. The circle slowly began to shrink. The red and yellow lights faded away, and all that was left was a tiny blue beam, which sat right on Celadon City.  
"Right," I said with a frown of concentration. "So we can cut down south of Cerulean, go through Saffron and arrive in Celadon City in three days if we're lucky. And while we're there, we can get a badge from Sabrina in Saffron."   
Jessie, James, Lark and Meowth glared at me. I sighed and looked up. "Please? I need another badge!"  
"Chances are that someone in Celadon has picked up that stone, we need to get there before it gets thrown away or destroyed, and that means no sidetrips," Lark said in a soothing voice.  
"But I want a bahahahahadge!" I moaned, banging my head on the table.  
"You can get one as soon as we've gotten that stone," Meowth said, brandishing his claws threateningly. "Your Charcloy can fly, right?"   
"I suppose," I said, folding up the wrinkled map and tucking it into my backpack. "Eevee return," I added, then stashed the valuable pokeball in a secret compartment of my pack.  
"Here are your pokemon, have a nice day," Nurse Joy said as she set my pokeballs down in front of me, then hurried off. I quickly clipped the pokeballs to my belt as I stood up.  
"I'm NEVER going to be a Pokemon Master if I keep skipping gyms," I said with a scowl.   
"Look on the bright side, at least you can get another Thunderstone for your traded eevee, you need an electric pokemon," said Lark with a cheerful smile.  
"Oh, is there a Jack Soniq in the pokecenter?" Nurse Joy yelled, standing up on the pokecenter front desk. I turned with a frown.  
"Yeah, that's me, why?"  
"You have a videophone call, here, turn it off when you're done, I have to go," Nurse Joy said quickly.  
I sat down at the phone console and grinned when I saw Professor Oak. "Hi Professor, what's up?"  
Oak was holding several pokeballs, one of which was a green great ball. "I just spoke with Bill, he gave me more details on your Ultrareon problem, and I realize that carrying that Eevee makes you only able to carry 5 of your pokemon, so I'm going to allow you to carry seven, now which one do you want?"  
I made a quick check of my pokeballs. Right now I had Charcloy, Pidgeot, Vaporeon, Butterfree, Vileplume and Bill's Eevee. Hmm, I must have turned in Nidoking, or pokedex had stolen him and sent him back to Oak. What would be a good pokemon.....  
"What pokemon of mine do you have, Professor?" I asked.  
"Umm, Abra, Nidoking, Spearow, Doduo, Eevee and Rattata," he replied after fumbling with the pokeballs for a minute.  
Spearow, Doduo and Rattata were definite no's. I had a bird pokemon, Pidgeot. Rattata was tough to train, I didn't have the time. So it was between Eevee, Abra and Nidoking. This was a tough choice. Abra was undoubtedly a good pokemon once he evolved, and Psychic was my second favorite type. On the other hand, I might not have the time to train Abra, and Nidoking was one of my originals, a veteran, good in a tough fight. Okay, Eevee was out, since I couldn't evolve him into anything except Vaporeon or Flareon, neither of which I needed. Nidoking or Abra? Oh well, didn't need a tough pokemon like Nidoking when I had Charcloy, Vileplume and Pidgeot.   
So I chose Abra. When I had the time, I would train the little sleeping guy. "Oh, and Jack," Oak said quickly. "I understand you'll be wanting to fly, and you won't have the time to earn the badge from Surge that'll make it legal for yo uto do so, so I'm upgrading your pokedex, and sending you a flyer's license, just hook up your pokedex to the information transferral switch."  
"Thanks for everything, Professor, you're really helping me out, bye!" I said, then flipped the videophone off.  
"Chaaaaar!" I clipped Charcloy's empty pokeball to my belt and let my fire dragon stretch out a little bit in the Cerulean street before talking to him. I noticed with a bit of pride that quite a crowd was gathering to stare in wonder at Charcloy.  
"Okay, Charcloy you can fly, right?" I asked as I walked around him to make sure he was in good condition.  
Charcloy looked down at me like I was a complete idiot, then his gigantic wings snapped out, startling his audience and making them jump back.   
"Right," I said, then lifted his claw to look at it. Dang, just one of his claws was bigger than my arm. 'Wasn't that big two days ago,' my subconcious whispered to me. I quickly waved away the gloomy thought and tightened my backpack around my shoulders.  
"Okay guys," I said as I climbed onto Charcloy's paw. He gently set me down on his backpack, where I sat down comfortably at the back of his neck, holding onto a spike. "Let's go, get up here!"  
Jessie and James stood hugging each other, Meowth inbetween then, all three white in fear, the thought never having occured to them earlier that they would actually have to fly high into the sky on the back of a pokemon they didn't trust. Lark nervously allowed herself to be lifted onto Charcloy's back, where she instantly scooted nearer to me, wrapping her arms around my waist and holding onto the same spike I was using.  
Charcloy grunted, and a ring of smoke blew from his nostrils. With a quick movement, my cunning (and impatient) fire type swept Jessie, James and their Meowth cat up onto his backpack, then with a mighty swoosh of wings, we were airborne. Jessie and James screamed, Lark gasped, and Meowth fainted dead away in James's arms. Below us, as we gained height, I could see the people of Cerulean City staring up at us.   
"Yeeeeee haaaaaa!" I howled as the ground became more distant. Thousands of miles of land stretched out in every direction. Such freedom I had never known! I could go anywhere I wanted! There was pallet, nestled snugly in the arms of a large mountain, there was Vermillion, the port city. Cerulean passed away beneath us, as did all the other smaller towns and cities. But not the largest one on continent. Celadon City was visible, just barely.  
There lay the first evolution stone, the water stone. We were on our way.  
  
  
To Be Continued.....  
  
  
Please comment on this story, let me know what you think, what could be improved, what mistakes I've made. Send all feedback to brenndon_juster@hotmail.com Faretheewell. Brenndon Juster II  
  



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